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OPENING PRAYER
Introduce the session by letting the group know that you are going to explore the theme of God staying with us, and look to experience the God who remains faithful to us. Invite the young people to join you in an ‘invocation’ (a prayer of invitation to God). Encourage the group to respond, ‘Come, God and stay with us,’ each time you say, ‘We invite you’. Practise the response a couple of times before praying:
Father God,
Make us aware of your love and care for us.
[Leave some silence]
Come, Father God, we invite you.
[All:] Come, God and stay with us.
Jesus Christ, Make us aware of your saving grace and your offer of friendship.
[Leave some silence]
Come, Jesus Christ, God the Son, we invite you.
[All:] Come, God and stay with us.
Holy Spirit, Make us aware of your power and your action among us.
[Leave some silence]
Come, God, the Holy Spirit, we invite you.
[All:] Come, God and stay with us.
Amen.
Alternatively, begin the session in any other prayerful way that you and your group finds helpful.
‘ABIDE WITH ME’ REFLECTION
Check that the young people understand the meaning of the archaic word ‘abide’ (it means to ‘live’ or ‘dwell’). Invite everyone to get comfortable, give everyone a piece of paper and a pen and listen to the old hymn ‘Abide with me’ together. If you have access to the DVD of the 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony, Emile Sandé’s version is powerful. Otherwise, either find a similarly meditative version of the song elsewhere, or ask a skilled member of the group in advance to prepare a performance.
Encourage the group to listen out for a word, phrase or sentiment that stands out to them, perhaps something that moves or challenges them. This requires a certain amount of focus when listening, but emphasise that they do not need to take in or remember everything in the hymn. Leave some silence at the end of the song. Then ask the young people to draw, doodle or write on their paper what they ‘heard’ in the song; it can be a single word, a phrase or an emotion. Staying in the silence, encourage the young people to invite God to speak into whatever they have put on their paper.
After a suitable amount of time, encourage the young people to share any thoughts coming out of this time. If you are a large group, you may want to split into groups of four or five for this. When sharing, ensure that each person gets to share without interruptions, probing or follow-up questions, and leave some silence between each person speaking.
GUIDED MEDITATION
When everyone has had a chance to share, invite the young people to get comfortable, and to find a position which helps them listen. Explain that you are going to lead a guided scripture meditation, where each person gets to imagine themselves as part of the story. Pray simply to ask God to speak before you start, and make sure to leave plenty of space after questions.
Say: Imagine that you are walking down a country road. It’s a dry and dusty mud road. What can you see nd hear as you walk along? As you walk you are caught up by two men, who seem to be agitated in some way. They are talking about Jesus, and his execution in Jerusalem – they don’t know about his resurrection yet. They seem upset. What do the men look like? What are they saying to each other? Are there any other noises on the road? What does it smell like?
You keep walking behind the men, and eventually a third man catches up with them and starts to walk alongside them. This is the risen Jesus, but the men don’t recognise him. What does Jesus look like as he catches up with the men? Jesus asks them what they are talking about. The men stop and seem surprised that this stranger hasn’t heard the news. As Jesus questions them further, one of the men, Cleopas, tells the stranger about Jesus, whom they had hoped to be the Messiah, but had been cruelly put to death, and the fact that there were now rumours that Jesus’ body had vanished from its grave and some women had said that he was alive again! What does Cleopas look like as he tells Jesus all of this? What emotions can you see on his face? Does he gesture or move around?
Jesus invites them to walk along with him again, as he tells them in great length about the prophesies in the Old Testament which say that the Messiah must suffer. Imagine the crunchy sounds as the three men walk along the dry mud path. Imagine the men’s attentive faces. You’re arriving at the outskirts of the village of Emmaus. What can you see? What sorts of noises can you hear? Are there new smells? You can see that Cleopas and his friend are slowing down – this is their destination. Jesus, however, seems to be heading somewhere different. Suddenly one of the men’s voices is stronger, more urgent. He says to Jesus: ‘Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.’ At that, Jesus goes with the men into a house and stays with them. Imagine them walking away from you into town.
Now, imagine yourself on a different road, the road outside your house. You are walking home after having been out, and the sun has almost completely set. Imagine where you have been, and picture your road. What can you see? What can you hear? What does the air smell of? What do your footsteps sound like? Consider what is on your mind as you walk down the road. Is something worrying you? Do you have concerns, or disappointments, or doubts that are taking up your thoughts? You realise that someone is catching up with you from behind, and as you look over your shoulder, you recognise Jesus. What does he look like? What do his footsteps sound like? He smiles as he greets you – what does he say to you? What does his voice sound like? What do you say to Jesus?
You arrive at your door, and it looks like Jesus will keep on walking. But you say to Jesus what you heard the Emmaus wanderers say: ‘Stay with me, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.’ Jesus goes in to your house with you, and stays with you. How does this make you feel? Spend some time with Jesus in your home. [Leave some space here, and be sensitive to leave the young people to engage with God for as long as they need to at this point.] You may want to pray a prayer to signify the end of the guided meditation, perhaps thanking God for staying with all of us, through Jesus Christ.
CLOSE
If you feel that it would be helpful, and you have the time, invite the young people to share in small groups their experience of the meditation. What did Jesus say and do? Be sensitive to young people who may have had a very personal experience, and do not want to share. Be encouraging, not pushy! Some groups may want to pray short prayers of blessing for each other. Finish the session by singing or saying the hymn ‘Abide with me’ together.
